


This Too Shall Pass

by kate7h



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Child Armin Arlert, Child Eren Yeager, Child Mikasa Ackerman, Gen, POV Eren Yeager, Shiganshina Trio, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-11 07:43:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5619088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kate7h/pseuds/kate7h
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During their time before joining the cadets, Mikasa gets sick. Eren and Armin try to find a way to cure her with no funds and no supplies. Eren's POV. Completed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I mentioned in an earlier fic that Mikasa had gotten sick during their time before joining the cadets... so I decided to write a thing for it, heh...

It was a frosty morning when Mikasa didn't wake up first. Usually, she'd wake with the first light of dawn as it streamed in the cracks and crevices of the big, drafty warehouse-turned-refuge center, and wake the two boys sleeping beside her. That morning they'd slept much later than usual, the sun higher in the cold, blue sky. People were already standing and getting ready for their day of fruitless attempts to till the frozen earth. 

"Oi Mikasa, wake up already," Eren mumbled, rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he shook her shoulder. 

Armin sat up, just as drowsy looking as Eren felt. "Mikasa's not awake yet?" He said through a yawn.

Eren rolled his eyes and nudged- more shoved- her again. "Mikasa, what the hell?"

Her face, buried in the blankets and scarf, scrunched as she shivered. She let out a hacking cough as she tried to burrow deeper into the thin blanket. 

Cold ice spread through Eren's insides, nothing to do with the chill of the morning. He'd been with his father on enough doctor's calls to know that that kind of cough wasn't good. Especially being out here in such cold temperatures, barely ever being able to get warm. 

"Mikasa? Are you alright?" Armin asked, and by the look on his face, he could see that something wasn't right as well. 

Mikasa still hadn't even opened her eyes, but continued to cough that raspy cough. Images of his mother and that Titan and Mikasa's family on the floor flashed through Eren's head and he ground his teeth together. 

"Dammit Mikasa! Just get up, you idiot!" He yelled at her. At that, she finally opened, looking up at his with bleary eyes. 

Armin reached over and pressed his fingers to her forehead, a heavy frown settling on his face.

"You feel really warm," he said quietly, giving Eren a worried glance. Eren swallowed dryly. She really didn't look well either, her face was way too pale, she was still shivering, and now that he listened, her breath was short and labored. 

"I don't… I'm fine…" Mikasa insisted, moving to sit up, but Eren pushed her shoulder until she laid down again. 

"You're obviously not fine," he muttered. 

What were they supposed to do? They didn't have anything, nothing more than the clothes on their backs. They didn't have anything remotely close to medicine, and from what he could remember, this kind of coughing sickness was always something his father had needed to be called for. It didn't just get better with time. Eren had never really payed any attention to what his father had done to cure it, so whatever knowledge he had as the son of a doctor was virtually useless. 

_ Dammit, why isn't dad here?!  _ Eren's nose curled, anger boiling inside him. Not just at his dad for disappearing, but also at Mikasa for getting sick. That wasn't fair, he knew, but he didn't care right then. 

"What the hell are we supposed to do?" Eren muttered. 

Armin looked up and around at the other people, leftover old folk and children, as well as a small squad of military police to babysit them. Without a word, he got up and scuttled over to one of the officers, a man who seemed to have more compassion for them than the begrudging rest. 

Eren watched intently as Armin spoke to the tall man, gesturing at Mikasa and Eren, likely explaining their situation, maybe even begging for help. His proud heart stung at that, making him want to refuse. But he knew this wasn't something they could fix on their own. It was good Armin was the one asking, he was so much better with people and words. They almost always had food because of Armin. 

Not this time, it looked like. The officer shook his head and Armin returned. Eren couldn't help the rage already boiling in his blood. 

"What'd that bastard say? That they can't waste medicine on filthy pissants like us?" Eren ground out, patting Mikasa's back as she coughed again, her whole body shaking. 

Armin looked down. "He said that supplies are limited, that they barely have enough, so they can't spare enough to help her."

Eren stopped himself from patting Mikasa's back again, figuring it was best not to be punching her with how tightly his hands turned to fists. 

"Cowardly shitheads, all of them," he ground out from between his teeth. "They just sit in their walls and hoard everything for themselves, while we work ourselves to death."

Eren stood up, trembling with rage. 

"Eren, don't," Armin said, grabbing at his hand, but he shook him off. 

"You damn MPs!!! You good-for-nothing  _ scum _ ! If you aren't gonna defend humankind from the Titans, or take care of its people, then you're just a waste of air and supplies! You  _ shitheads _ !!! You motherfu-!"

Armin grabbed his arm again, this time with a lot more force, and yanked him back down. "Eren, lecturing them about injustice is not gonna help Mikasa!" Armin said harshly. 

"Well what do you think we should do?" Eren shot back, blood still pounding in his ears. "'Cause I've got no clue."

"Me neither," Armin said quietly. "Even if we knew what medicines to use and how to use them, we don't have the means to get them."

"Do you know how to though? Use the medicines? I never learned from my dad how to do that," Eren asked. 

Armin shook his head. "I don't. I read a book on herbs and medicines once, but it was a long time ago. I don't remember any specifics…"

Eren pulled his knees to his chest, biting his lip to keep it from trembling. This could easily take Mikasa away, Armin too if it were contagious. Eren wasn't sure he could handle either of those outcomes. Not after everything that had happened so far. He was sure he'd go insane without both of them. 

"Well we can't do nothing," Eren insisted, feeling very much like that's all that they could do. 

Armin touched Mikasa's forehead once more, and Eren eyes were drawn back to her face. She was awake now, coughing intermittently, but listening. 

"How do you feel right now?" Armin asked softly. 

Mikasa did her best to swallow. "I'm thirsty," she said simply, her voice coarse. 

"Hang on, we'll get you some water-" Eren got up to go fetch some when he nearly ran into someone behind them. 

"Sorry, little one, but I couldn't help but overhear your situation," the man said. 

Eren frowned. He'd recognized this man, one of the men deemed too old to be sent out on the reclamation mission. Honestly, he wished he hadn't been. This particular man's eyes lingered far too much on Mikasa when she was changing or washing. 

"What do you want, old man?" Eren said, making it so he was standing directly between the man and his friends. 

The man smiled, a closed-mouth smile that made his lips nearly disappear. It seemed way too cheery and it was pissing Eren off. 

"I'm called Sterner, and I thought you could use some of this," he said in a light voice, handing a jar of water out to Eren. "The girl is sick, is she not?"

Eren glared at the jar and then at Sterner. He was half wondering if he'd have tried to sneak something into it before Armin was beside him, taking the jar with a nod of his head. 

"Thank you, sir. That's very kind, thank you so much," Armin said very respectfully. 

Sterner waved him off, wearing that same stupid smile. "It's not like we have a shortage of water so it's nothing really. But just make sure she stays hydrated so her body can heal itself."

Armin's head tilted, looking at the man oddly, his eyes darting over him, quietly sizing up something about him. Sterner probably didn't see it, but Eren could tell when Armin was evaluating a situation, reading someone, and when he was coming up with a plan. 

"Yes, of course. Thank you for the advice," he replied. 

Sterner smiled again (damn him) and went to turn away. Before he got too far, Armin stepped up to stand in front of him again. "So, is there any other advice you can give us? As a medical man yourself."

Eren blinked.  _ How on earth could tell that? _

Sterner seemed just as surprised. "How did you know that, child?"

Armin shrugged. "Lucky guess, I suppose. But if you would, will you help us out? Neither of us have much knowledge of how to handle something like this."

"Well," Sterner said, scratching the back of his neck. "I suppose, but there's not much I can do without any supplies."

"That's alright, we just need some more information to figure out what to do next. You understand, right?"

Sterner seemed a lot more apprehensive now with Armin reading him like an open book, and that stupid smile was long gone too (good). Eren wanted him to be apprehensive. If he tried anything weird, Eren had that little piece of blade tucked into his coat, and he knew Mikasa had hers too, since she was the one who'd come up with that idea, (Armin had declined, but Eren figured he could just keep close to him and that would be fine). 

So Eren hovered over them, fists at his side as Sterner knelt down beside Mikasa, who was now sitting up and eyeing him blandly. 

"So how're you feeling then, little lady?"

Mikasa glanced at Eren, then at Armin, before answering. "I'm thirsty," she repeated, accepting a tin cup handed to her by Armin. 

Sterner nodded, then reached out and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. Eren could feel his hackles rising all the more. Did it have to be this guy who was the doctor? He forced himself to stay still and not slice open his hand for touching her unexpectedly. 

Mikasa coughed hoarsely, which made Sterner back off a bit, so either was effective, he supposed. 

"Definitely got a fever," Sterner said as he pulled his hand back. "Do you feel chilled?"

"Yes." She proved it by continuing to shiver, the blanket wrapped completely around her. 

"Achy at all? Does your chest hurt? Or your head?"

She paused, glancing at the boys once more before looking at the doctor again. "My chest hurts."

Eren frowned deeper. If Mikasa was hurting or uncomfortable she usually kept it to herself until she couldn't. Both he and Armin had gotten after her in the past about it, but she consistently did that. Although she had promised that if it was too much for her, then she would tell them. Right now she wasn't just telling them, but this creepy stranger too. It was just another bad sign and Eren hated everything about this.

Mikasa coughed some more, a raspy, wet kind of cough that lasted for more than a minute. The sound was loud, even as she buried her mouth in her sweater sleeve. Sterner frowned, tilting his head as if trying to hear it better.

When she was done, he pulled out a shabby, old looking pocket watch and reached out a hand. "May I take your pulse?"

Mikasa let him take her hand, and he pressed his fingers into the vein at her wrist. He looked at the hands on the watch before letting her go. 

"I'd like to listen to your breathing, so could you take off your sweater and lift up your dress so I can listen to your back."

"You wanna what?!" Eren interjected, stepping threateningly toward the doctor. But Mikasa was already pulling her dress up.

"It's fine," she said in a raspy voice. 

Sterner sent him a smile, what he seemed to think was disarming, but it only pissed Eren off more.

"It's not fine, he just wants an excuse to grope you!" Eren yelled, his fingernails digging into his palms. 

Sterner frowned now, glancing around at the faces who had turned at the sound of Eren's shouting.

"Eren," Armin interjected. "We need him to give us a diagnosis."

"But he-!"

"If you would," Mikasa interrupted, turning herself around so her back was facing the doctor. Then she shoved at his legs to move him out of the way. Eren stumbled to the side, but let Sterner pass him. Begrudgingly. And glowering the entire time, but if Mikasa was fine with some old pervert putting his nasty ear on her back, then he guessed that was her business. Still, Eren really just wanted to throw him out that big, industrial sized window.

Sterner listened to her breathe for a minute or so before letting her lower her dress again, and burying herself in her sweater and blanket once more.

"Just as I suspected, you have the winter coughing sickness. You'll need medicine to treat it," Sterner said matter-of-factly, standing above them. 

Eren folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah, we already knew that, dumbass. What kind of medicines?"

Sterner glanced at Armin before responding to Eren. As if to confirm that what he'd just asked was a valid question. Armin just raised his eyebrows, validating it, he supposed.  _ Damn right it's a valid question, moron. _

"I can give you a list of different ones you'll need, but…" he trailed off, looking down at Mikasa with pitying eyes. Eren desperately wanted to punch him in the face.

"That would be great, thank you," Armin said quickly. "We'll manage to get the supplies, we just need you to tell us what to do with them."

Sterner looked around at the three of them, all their eyes up at him. He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his forefingers. "It's unlikely you'll be able to afford such things. It wasn't cheap even before Wall Maria fell. And with the infection in her lungs, she won't last til spring."

It almost felt like the world was falling out from underneath him. No, that couldn't be true. They'd find a way, they always had. Plus, Mikasa was strong, she could brave this. She'd pull through. A stupid cold couldn't take her down. But even with those thoughts, the fear still gripped him. She could be gone within a few days, and that wasn't like a titan devouring her, he couldn't get revenge against nature. 

His eyes filled with tears as he glanced at her, sitting on the ground while they stood around her. He couldn't see her face clearly, but from what he could see, there was fear. The fearless Mikasa was afraid.

Fear of his own and anger and a drive to do  _ something _ propelled him forward, screaming in rage as he tackled Sterner to the ground, punching him in his stupid face.

"Damn you! She can't just die like that!! You don't know what the hell you're talking about, you pervy bastard!!"

His fist was small compared to the man's face, but he could still feel the satisfying pain as it impacted Sterner's mouth. His lips were bleeding. Sterner tried to push him off, but Eren just gripped his shirt tighter, punching harder. 

"Eren, stop!" Armin yelled, pulling at his shirt. "Stop it! C'mon!"

Eren ignored him. This guy, he was gonna let Mikasa just die without even trying. He was barely willing to even lift a finger. What the hell sort of doctor  _ didn't _ want to help people? Why even become a doctor, in that case?

"What do ya think you're doing, kid?!" An MP shouted, followed by the sound of treading boots. 

"Eren!" Armin shouted in his ear. And Eren slowed enough to see a gloved fist swing at his own face. Then it went dark. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Eren grows increasingly more worried for Mikasa, a new problem arises for the trio.

Eren groaned as he came to, his head throbbing. 

"Wha..?" He muttered, trying to blink away the grogginess. 

"You were knocked out," Mikasa said from beside him. He turned his head to see her lying on her back, looking up at the ceiling. "Armin and the MPs were trying to get you off of the doctor, but you wouldn't listen."

Her voice was so quiet, raspy and whispery. Nowhere near to what her normal voice sounded like. Eren frowned, moving to sit up, but a shooting pain erupted throughout his skull. 

"Mmrrphh," he groaned, lying back down, his hand pressed the tender spot where he assumed he was punched in the face.

"That's your own fault," Mikasa murmured. 

Eren turned to his side, sending a glare at the side of her face. It didn't last long as right then, Mikasa erupted into a coughing fit again.  _ God, she looks pale, _ he thought with a deepening frown. Worry filled him up all over again.

"Where's Armin?" He asked when she quieted down. 

She swallowed, painfully by the looks of it, before turning her head towards him once more. "In the field. They didn't make me work for today, and the MP who hit you got scolded by his superior for hitting a child so hard. They decided to let you sleep it off."

Her eyes examined his face for a brief moment more. "Huh. I thought you'd have had a bigger bruise."

Eren touched his fingers to the spot once more, but she was right. It wasn't as tender as it could have been. Still hurt like a bitch, though.

Mikasa coughed again, hoarse, but not lasting as long as the last bout. He watched, feeling his own face grimace at how painful it sounded for her. She'd said her chest hurt, so coughing like that could only make it worse. 

She sent him a side glance before sighing, looking up at the ceiling again. "Could you not look at me like that."

Eren blinked. "Like what?"

She sighed again and shook her head. That fear was on her face again, but now she was decidedly not looking at him. She was really scared, and she didn't want him to see it. Both facts made his stomach twist inside. It was plain as day, and anybody would be scared. Was she so ashamed that she could even look at him? And what was there to be ashamed of, just getting sick? That wasn't her fault at all. It could've been any of them.

"Mikasa…" He said slowly, but not entirely sure what he'd wanted to say. Instead, he reached up and took the end of her scarf between his fingers, finding it probably better than actually taking her hand.

Honestly, even though it had been his scarf before, he tended to forget that it had ever belonged to him. It was just Mikasa's. It had been since that night, and it would be until she decided she didn't want it anymore. Which was unlikely, by the way she clung to it all the time. She'd probably have it until she died. Which could be sooner rather than later. 

He grit his teeth, clenching his fist in the material. "You're not gonna die. I promise." 

She turned to look at him finally, her charcoal colored eyes widened now. She really  _ really  _ did not look well. She was still pretty pale, the only color being fever flush, with a thin layer of sweat on her entire face. Eren should have probably not been so close to her that he could feel her breath against his face, but he didn't care right then. 

Mikasa closed her eyes, then looked back to him, her eyelids drooping. "Making promises you can't keep is the same as lying."

He blinked, taken aback. "It's not a lie! You're gonna be just fine! You'll get better and we'll all just forget about this stupid sickness!"

"Giving false hope is lying too." She looked down away from his face. Taking in another shaky breath, her eyes hardened tiredly. "It's pretty obvious what our situation is."

His chest filled with angry fire. "So what? You're just gonna give up?!"

"I'm no-" She was cut off by a choking cough, burying her face into the scarf. Eren pulled his hand back, that glare he'd been wearing softening from his face. It was hard to be angry at her in such a state.

She groaned when she finished and looked back at him. "I'm not giving up. I'm trying to fight this. But… I don't know how to fight something like this."

Eren nodded, trying to swallow back the possibility that  _ maybe _ she wasn't going to come out of this. He might lose her too. The thought sunk through him like icy wind chilling him to the bone. It just… couldn't happen. Mikasa couldn't be gone. She would always be there beside him. Except, she probably wouldn't. Couldn't be forever. She'd be gone, just like Mom and Dad.

He shook his head, leaning forward to wrap an arm around her, pulling her into a contorted side-hug.

"E-Eren!" She squeaked, but he didn't let go, refused to. He needed to feel her, to know that she was still there, warm and breathing, her still heart beating. The alternative was just unthinkable, and yet he couldn't stop thinking about it.

"You can't die, Mikasa. You just can't," he murmured into her hair, squeezing probably too tight, for the way she was breathing faster.

Her hands were sort of pinned between them, but she reached up, clasping the shirt at his collar tightly. Eren tried not to, but the tears in his eyes still fell down into her hair. He hated how much this felt like a goodbye.

He gritted his teeth again at that, clinging to her tighter. "Please," he whispered. "I don't wanna lose you too."

"Eren…" Mikasa whispered, her breath soft against his neck. Her fingers reached up, brushing through his hair. Comforting. Consoling. Not a resolution to keep fighting.

He pulled back, sitting up to kneel beside her. He wiped at his face, trying to erase the moisture from his eyes.

"Stupid, stupid…" he muttered to himself. "This is so stupid."

Mikasa sat up, keeping him at face level. "Eren." She said simply, and stared at him quietly until her looked up again.

"What?" He asked curtly.

Her face seemed to soften as she looked down again. "Promise me… that if I don't make it, you'll continue to live."

Eren started to interject, but she continued.

"If you promise me that, I'll promise to do everything I can to live as well. Fight, like you told me before." She looking him in the face now, her eyes holding him seemingly until he agreed. 

Eren scoffed. "It's stupid to make that a promise. We'll both do that anyways, but fine."

Her eyes closed and a ghost of a smile crossed her face. "Thanks," she said, exhaling. "Thanks, Eren."

Eren didn't smile back, his face falling into a deeper frown than before. His stomach was all twisty and churning from the whole conversation. He pulled his legs up and hugged his knees to himself. "Yeah, whatever.."

They waited in silence for a while, excluding Mikasa's loud coughing fits, until the rest of the shelter's inhabitants came back from the fields, namely Armin. It would be better when Armin came back. Then they could think of a plan of what to do and how to fix this. No matter how much Eren thought and thought on it, he couldn't seem to come up with anything. He just couldn't stop thinking about Mikasa actually  _ dying _ and how much he didn't want that and how his stomach was just  _ hurting _ . Yeah, it would definitely be better when Armin came back.

But as the rest of the people came in from working morning till evening, Armin wasn't among them. 

"The doctor isn't here either," Mikasa said, seeing the weirdness in it too as Eren handed her another cup of water.

Eren frowned. That doctor… could he have done something to Armin now? His skin crawled and his stomach twisted harder. Eren stood up, looking into the faces of the spattered crowd. There weren't that many, but maybe they'd missed seeing them come in.

"Armin!" he called out, hoping to see his head full of golden hair pop up, completely fine. He didn't.

"Armin!" he shouted louder, his voice echoing over the rest of the frowning, haggard faces of the old and worn. 

But he was nowhere inside the place. Eren twisted the end of his shirt between his hands. "Stay there," he said to Mikasa, walking towards the doors, looking all over for the missing boy.

He didn't want to leave Mikasa alone, but Armin wasn't there. If Eren didn't look for him, no one would. They were insignificant, homeless children, alone to the world. And the harsh world didn't care. Well, the world could shove it. Eren cared, and he was looking for his friend. 

"Armin! Where are you!?" Eren shouted as he went out the doors, a gust of cold air rushed through him. He shivered, but pushed forward. "Armin!"

The field was empty in the light of the dipping sun, the workers retreating indoors to the less than warm 'shelter'. Eren started there, running out towards the field intent on searching the woods surrounding. If he wasn't there, he would try the path leading to town. 

The leaves crunched underneath his boots, crackling with ice, rather than with the dryness of autumn. The shadows were long and creepy in the orangey sunset. Eren shouted out Armin's name a dozen times over, but heard no reply. 

He walked further through the forest, the light getting dimmer and dimmer. 

A ways out, he came to a little grove of trees, a fallen log in the center. It was odd not because of the sight, but the  _ smell _ . There was a rottenness in the air, putrid. The smell of death. Eren swallowed, sick in his stomach rising. He'd seen death before, caused it before, (he pushed those memories away), but he hadn't stayed long enough to know the smell of a corpse. He took a guess that it would smell like this. 

Despite his stomach roiling the way it was, he stepped closer to the log. He had to know. He  _ had  _ to know for sure that this wasn't his friend. That Armin was completely fine and  _ alive _ . 

The ground surrounding the log was covered with beetles, scuttling every which way. Eren kicked his feet, trying to keep them from creeping up his legs. He could tell that there was something, buried under unfrozen leaves, beside the log. It didn't look very big, and that more scared Eren than relieved him. Without taking his wide eyes from the pile, he picked up a stick and pushed the leaves aside. 

He didn't find the dead face of Armin, it was only a dead raccoon. 

Eren trembled all over, glaring down at it as it was devoured by the beetles. He threw the stick down as hard as he could at the thing and moved to get out of the woods. The road it was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That last bit ended up way more morbid and creepy than I'd intended... I guess that's what I get for listening to the Coraline soundtrack while writing.  
> Anyways, thanks for reading! And as always, I would love to hear what you think! You can probably expect the next chapter up next week sometime (sorry for vague timing, but ain't that just the way?)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin doesn't mind paying a price to heal Mikasa. Eren has thoughts of the future. Chapter 3/3.

It was dusk by the time Eren got out of the woods and to the road. The temperatures had dropped even more with the absence of the sun. Eren really wished he'd taken his coat. He couldn't be out looking too much longer. Mikasa was still sick, and now she was alone.  _ Armin, where the hell are you?!  _ Eren thought, trying to focus more on being angry at Armin than terrified the raccoon wasn't the only dead thing out there to find.  

He walked along the road towards the lights of the town, definitely not crying. Nope, that was just some melted snowflakes. Eren looked up, the darkening clouds dropping frozen water on his face. Oh, it actually had started snowing. 

Eren stopped, vigorously wiping the not-tears from his face. "Damn it all to hell," he mumbled, crying some more. (Okay, yes he was crying.  _ Shit. _ ) He wasn't even looking anymore, he was just crying like a baby, stumbling along the side of the road. 

"Eren?" A voice said from across the road. Eren looked up to see a small kid in a hood, standing in front of a taller, old man, his hands carrying a box. Armin and the doctor, Sterner. For a moment, he just stared, barely able to see his face in the shadows with his hood pulled up. Armin walked forward a few steps. "What're you doing out here?"

Eren blinked back the fresh tears and ran over to him, lifting him off the ground with how hard he hugged him. He was right there, totally fine. Completely alive and fine and the relief washed over Eren like a torrent. 

"W-what happened? Is Mikasa okay?" Armin asked, a little breathlessly at how tightly Eren was squeezing him. 

That brought Eren back to ' _ Where the hell did Armin go _ ?' He let go of the other boy and shoved Armin hard in the chest. Armin stumbled back with a gasp. It was surprising he didn't fall down with how much force Eren had put into it. Eren almost wished he had.

"Asshole! Where were you?!" Eren shouted. 

Armin blinked, startled. Then he smiled so wide, Eren almost thought his face was gonna split open. "I got the medicine."

Now it was Eren's turn to gawk. "Wha- how?! Did you steal it?"

Armin shook his head, but grabbed onto Eren's arm. "I'll tell you later, let's just get this to Mikasa first!"

"Uh okay!" Eren replied, following along with Armin as he all but ran towards the building, Sterner following behind them quietly.

There was a possibility that everything would be okay. Somehow, by some miracle, Armin had gotten his hands on exactly what they'd needed. It was nearly unbelievable. Eren was twisting his fingers in his sweater, hoping and wishing it would actually work. 

When they arrived back inside, they found Mikasa lacing her shoes up, her coat already pulled on and buttoned on. He felt his insides sink.  _ Idiot, you're such an idiot! _ He thought as he rushed over to her. "Hey! What do you think you're doing!"

Mikasa looked up at him, staring wide eyed as he shouted at her. "You've been gone for over an hour."

He frowned, shaking his head. How could she be so stupid! "That doesn't mean you should go outside! You could've made yourself worse!" 

Mikasa stood up, grabbing both his hands in hers. He blinked, startled, but held on still, trying to keep her from falling over at how much she swayed. "I didn't know if something happened to you…" she said, her voice as steady as her legs.

She looked up and around, then relief flooded over her increasingly pale face. "Armin's alright?"

Eren glanced back at the two who were making their way towards them, Armin and that doctor. He knew how she felt, as he'd be stressing about if something had happened to Armin just the same as her. "Yeah, he's fine. He went to town with that doctor and got you some medicine."

Mikasa looked back to him in confusion. "How?"

Eren cracked a smile. "He'll explain, just- here, sit."

As he helped her to sit back down, Armin came back, his face smiling as well, although it was hard to see in the dim firelight, especially with his hood pulled up. 

Mikasa looked up at him, and was about to say something before she broke into another fit, coughing almost like she was drowning. His stomach twisted again as he patted her back.  _ Dammit, I hope this works.  _

Armin turned to Sterner. "Will you make the preparations needed please?"

Sterner smiled, patting Armin's head. "Sure thing, kid." Eren scowled, but let it go. 

Sterner set the box down and pulled out a few bottles of different herbs and medicines, then hurried off with the nearly empty jug of water, probably to go boil some more. Eren sat beside Mikasa, watching as Armin turned to look at the herbs and stuff. Just then, Mikasa grabbed Armin's arm, her eyes unreadable. 

"What did you do, Armin?"

Armin smiled, then grasped her hand, moving to hold it in his. "I wanted to help you, so-"

He paused, then pulled off his hood. His golden hair was chopped, falling now to his eyes rather than underneath his chin. 

Mikasa pulled back, blinking in startlement. "Armin…"

Armin shook his head. "I sold it. The lady I sold it to even gave me a few candies along with the money I needed, because she thought it was so nice. Here," Armin pulled them out of his pocket, then dropped a little wrapped toffee candy in both Mikasa and Eren's hands. 

Mikasa reached out again, brushing through Armin's hair with her fingers. "You did this for me?"

With another smile, Armin nodded. "Of course. And it's just hair, it'll grow back, so it's no problem."

Mikasa let go, settling to sit back again. From where he sat, Eren could see the sheen in Mikasa's watering eyes. "I guess you're right."

"You should probably lay down now. Don't worry, we'll have you better in no time at all," Armin beamed. 

Mikasa just nodded and Eren helped her, holding her shoulders until she settled to the ground again. "Armin," she said, her voice quiet and muffled by the scarf around her neck.

"What is it?" Armin asked.

"Thank you."

Armin smiled once more, then turned back to the supplies. 

When Sterner came back, he and Armin tended to Mikasa and Eren couldn't help but be reminded of his father. His methods and movements as he skillfully tended to the sick or wounded. 

Eren sat back out of their way, his finger clasped around themselves.  _ I wonder where he went… _ Eren thought uneasily. There was a fragment of memory, of Grisha waking him and holding his hand as they walked towards the dark woods, but after that nothing. And it was all hazy, though, so Eren figured it must have been a dream. Even so, he could see his father's eyes as Eren had told him his mother's fate. Glistening with tears from the pain, but also resolution, desperation. Eren hadn't known why, still didn't, but it was stuck a bit of fear into his heart.

It was just a dream anyway.

After a few days of monitoring and administrating medicine, and as much rest as they could manage to keep her down for, she started to improve. Eren was sure he'd never felt so relieved as he did from that. She was relatively back to normal in a little over two weeks, which Sterner said was the fastest he'd seen someone recover from a sickness like that. But that was Mikasa for you.

Eren glanced at her, digging her hoe into the frozen earth, giving it all her strength. Mikasa had always been strong, so incredibly, unbelievably strong. Eren couldn't help but think what if it was Armin who'd gotten sick? Or even himself? Would they have pulled through the same? He wanted to say 'yes', but he wasn't too sure. Armin was strong intellectually, but not very much physically. And he himself, he wanted to believe he was as strong as Mikasa, but he knew that it wasn't true. She showed him up without even thinking about it. 

Bristling at his own thoughts, Eren looked down, hitting harder at the soil. 

"What's wrong, Eren?" she asked from beside him. She'd stopped, looking at him with that blank-eyed concern she always seemed to have. So everything was back to normal then.

His mouth set in a frown as he hit the ground again, harder than before. "Nothing."

It really didn't matter to think of what might have happened. It hadn't. Both him and Armin were fine, and now so was Mikasa, and Eren was glad that it was over now. In a year, they would join the cadets. They would fight back. But for now, they would continue to survive this hell together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end! Short story, but I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for everyone reading and writing their support! This has been fun :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and hoped you liked it! Next part coming soon! Comments are very much appreciated


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